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Why West Ham could derail Tottenham’s reported pursuit of Hojbjerg – TBR View

Will Butcher

Tue 28 July 2020 18:15, UK

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly closing in on the signing of Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – but West Ham could now potentially derail a bid, by selling one of their players to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Hojbjerg, 24, has long been linked with Tottenham and having entered the final 12 months of his contract at Southampton, a move is expected. Everton made an offer, but Spurs are leading the charge.

that Tottenham are close to a deal, despite offering just £15million with Southampton looking for £10million more. Kyle Walker-Peters is central to a move, as he remains on loan at Southampton from Spurs.

Spurs are looking to engineer a deal that sees them land Hojbjerg in a player-plus-cash deal that would see Walker-Peters go the other way on a permanent basis – with Spurs seemingly unwilling to increase their cash offer.

But West Ham could derail such a bid, by sanctioning a move for Ryan Fredericks to swap West Ham for the south coast. The same report from Southampton are interested in landing the ex-Tottenham man.

Southampton are seemingly after a right-back following Cedric Soares’ move to Arsenal on a permanent basis. They are said to be interested in Fredericks, after becoming alerted to his ‘potential availability’.

Southampton do have Yan Valery, so if they complete a move to sign Fredericks, they will be well-stocked at right-back and their need for Walker-Peters will no more.

With Spurs looking to include Walker-Peters and remaining stubborn on their £15million cash fee, Southampton no longer needing the right-back will surely throw a huge spanner in Tottenham’s bid to sign Hojbjerg.

Fredericks and West Ham, then, could ruin Tottenham’s efforts to sign Hojbjerg – if they sanction the right-back’s move to Southampton in the coming weeks.